[BigBoss168]

Hi all - new member here - looks like a great forum so I look forward to participating. This is a cross-post from the 1addicts forum - they made their views clear so I thought I'd seek views from the other side!

I'm looking to replace my 2002 Boxster 2.7 and it seems that for around $65-70K (Australian dollars) you can pick up either a 1-year old 135i with <10,000km or a 2004/05 E46 M3 with <60,000km, both in manual. Thoughts on one versus the other? I only drive about 5,000km per year (I walk to work) and do a couple of track days per year but generally speaking I only really drive on the weekends. Sometimes go for a Sunday morning blast but that's probably only once per month if that. This is my only car so it needs to be able to go to the supermarket, run errands etc. as well.

I've driven both (although not at the same time) and both are great cars. The 135i I drove was an auto (haven't driven a manual one but I hope to do that over the next couple of weeks). Been a couple of years since I borrowed my former boss's M3 for the weekend and that was a blast. I must say that I've always had a bit of a hankering for an M-car but the 135i has had such good reviews and was so much fun to drive...

I did a search and read the earlier discussion - but since prices for the M3s have come down substantially over the last 12 months and some nice cars seem to be coming onto the market I thought I'd ask for revised opinions.

Thanks in advance!